My regular book post will actually be TOMORROW because I am taking part in a blog tour with WOW! Women On Writing for The Divorce Girl (which is a WONDERFULLY written book!). So, today, I thought I’d post about something near and dear to my heart and encourage you to take part if you feel moved.
My high school friend, Kelly Ellison, has Scleroderma (skleer-oh-DUR-muh). If you are not familiar with this disease, it is “a chronic autoimmune disorder which means the body’s tissues are attacked by its own immune system. In the simplest of terms, Scleroderma is an overproduction of collagen that can result in thickening or tightening of skin and scarring of internal organs.” (From The Relief Foundation website) As with anything in her entire life, Kelly faces this disease with determination, and she does not let it get her down. She continues to have enormous faith in God when others would have been cursing his name for their pain. I love Kelly, and now she is committed to helping others with the same disease. That’s her spirit. That’s her!
Kelly founded The Relief Foundation, which is committed to helping Scleroderma patients with financial assistance. Here’s what Kelly says on her website: “The Relief Foundation was birthed out of my frustration in dealing with the limited information regarding the disease, emotional challenges due to changes in my physical appearance and limitations, not being able to work and resulting loss of income, medical processes, trial treatments, and the high cost of healthcare.”
Kelly recently underwent stem cell transplant therapy, and it is making a huge difference in her life. On Facebook at the end of May, she mentioned that the pigmentation in her skin is returning, she can bend over to put on her socks, and open her mouth wide enough to brush her teeth. Can you imagine NOT BEING ABLE to open your mouth wide enough to brush your teeth? Imagine how eating would be. These were all things she was struggling with BEFORE her procedure. But as you know, therapy, medication, doctors visits, traveling to doctors and hospitals, and more aren’t cheap; and even if insurance covers some, you still have a lot of expenses that go with a disease, including loss of wages from not being able to work.
So, how can you help? OH MY GOSH, it is so simple. Purchase for only $5.00 a one-day Macy’s 25 percent off shopping pass (the date to use the pass is August 25!). Yes, you heard it, for just $5.00, which helps the Relief Foundation help patients with Scleroderma, you can then go and save EVEN MORE MONEY at Macy’s on August 25–just in time for back-to-school shopping! You are helping a good cause AND you get to go shopping AND save money. What could be better than that?
Purchase your passes here: http://www.freewebstore.org/relief-foundation—shop-for-a-cause/index.aspx?pageid=1518514
For questions, leave a comment! I will answer or ask Kelly to stop by and answer.
Please share and tell your friends, or better yet, buy them one, too. You can use these at any Macy’s in t
photo by youmanimus www.flickr.com
Sometimes, on this blog, I talk about different charities and how you can donate to them to help women and girls around the world. But I understand, believe me, that many people don’t have extra money to give right now. I also understand how it seems like there is so much need, how can you pick and choose whom to give to?
Money isn’t the only way that you can help these women and girls around the world. There are plenty of celebrities and CEOs who can donate thousands of dollars. But what can you do?
- Tell people what you learn in books, on news shows, on this blog, and in magazines. Education is one of the keys to stopping things like human trafficking, maternal mortality, and genocide. It is often easy for people to turn a blind eye if they think it is not directly affecting them. So, don’t be afraid to talk about these issues to family members and friends.
- You can pray or meditate or whatever your beliefs lead you to do. I’m Catholic, and I believe that there’s strength in prayer. Prayer costs nothing and doesn’t even take much time. I can pray for the victims of human trafficking. I can pray for the children living in poverty. I can pray for people to be treated equally.
- Recommend books like Half the Sky, Left to Tell, or Beatrice’s Goat to friends and family. See if they are in your local library. If not, ask the librarian if there is any wish lists or ways to purchase these important books.
- If you belong to a group at your church or in your community and you are looking for a fundraiser idea, consider one of the charities listed on this blog such as Loose Change for Loose Chains or the Left to Tell Charitable Fund.
- If your neighborhood or community has an area wide garage sale, see if a portion (even 10%) of the sales can go to a charity or put up a donation can at your check-out table with some information about something like the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia and see if you anyone donates. Send in those donations.
- Tweet about information and charities you hear about. Share information on your Facebook page.
You, yourself, don’t have to give a lot of money to these organizations. If you want to help, try one of the suggestions above. If you have any more, please let us know in the comments section below!
As I talked about yesterday, Heifer International is a wonderful organization that encourages people to help each other. They have been around for almost 60 years, helping people to obtain a sustainable food source and income. Here’s a success story from their magazine World Ark::
Ganga Khanal, who lives in Nepal, said she was devalued because she could not give birth to a son. She felt powerless to change her life against the centuries of tradition in her village. When Khanal gave birth to two daughters, her husband married her sister and also brought the sister into the home. Khanal fought with her sister. Her husband hit her when she spoke up for herself. She never had enough to eat.
Khanal heard about a women’s group in her village that had savings and received animals and training. The group (Heifer International) was looking for more members. Even though her husband opposed the idea, Khanal strated Jagrit Women’s Group, completed the Heifer Cornerstones and animal management training, and received two black and white goats.
Here’s a quote from her (World Ark, Spring 2010, page 13): “Today I am something. I have substance; I have animals; I have crops,” Khanal said. “My group gave me the inspiration, the idea, and the confidence to do all this.”
Obviously, we cannot all go to Nepal and train women like Khanal, even if we want to. But that’s the beauty of Heifer International. They make it easy to help from your living room. On their website, you can purchase animals and products from their online catalog, such as: cattle, sheep, water buffalo, goats, knitting baskets, flocks of chicks, and a trio of rabbits. Depending on the amount of money you have, you can also buy shares of these. This means, that when Heifer International has enough people who buy shares of an animal, an entire animal can be given to a family. They also provide fundraising ideas on their website if you want to raise money with a group or even with your family or even at Vacation Bible School this summer (there’s a special program for that!).
Above is one of my favorite books, which I’ve talked about on here before, that tells the story of an elementary school class raising money to Give a Goat.
Kelly recently underwent stem cell transplant therapy, and it is making a huge difference in her life. On Facebook at the end of May, she mentioned that the pigmentation in her skin is returning, she can bend over to put on her socks, and open her mouth wide enough to brush her teeth. Can you imagine NOT BEING ABLE to open your mouth wide enough to brush your teeth? Imagine how eating would be. These were all things she was struggling with BEFORE her procedure. But as you know, therapy, medication, doctors visits, traveling to doctors and hospitals, and more aren’t cheap; and even if insurance covers some, you still have a lot of expenses that go with a disease, including loss of wages from not being able to work. 